Home at last....

We are home at last :) At least our North Carolina home!! Mommy and daddy and I left around midnight last night.... something about wanting me to sleep for most of the car ride. Good thinking guys! Although by the 12th hour I was getting PRETTY antsy to get out of the car and had slept ENOUGH for the three of us (although mommy and daddy weren't feeling quite the same). Now we are relaxing, living the mountain life in good ole Spruce Pine, NC with my Cici and Grandpa! AND.... it's supposed to SNOW TOMORROW!!!!! I've never seen snow before, they tell me it's really cold and pretty though. :)

 

Down for the night ride

relaxing at Cici and Grandpas house

 

This week was a pretty busy one before we left. I went to work with mommy on Monday and honestly I think I had a case of the Mondays because I was V E R Y grumpy! I just couldn't get to sleep for my naps and I wanted to be at home watching football like we did on Sunday. Oh well.... on Tuesday we had a Christmas dinner with our fabulous neighbors who ended up giving me lots of fun gifts, even though they weren't supposed to!! They watch my puppy dog Aston while we are out of town and I gotta tell you, I think he likes their house more than our house. He was whining all day yesterday because he KNEW we were leaving... usually he whines because he's excited to come home with us, but now he whines because he just wants to go over to their house and he doesn't want to wait any longer! Last night they came to get him and he didn't even think twice about leaving us, he just booked it out the front door without so much as a good bye. TRAITOR! Oh well, at least he's happy while we are away!

 I finally fell asleep at work with mommy 

 

A little smile after my nap

On Tuesday I also went to see the Orthopaedist about my cramped fingers.... they were SUPER nice and took a funny x-ray right there in the office of my fingers and my hips (just to be sure they were growing right). Thankfully the doctor came back and said I'm PERFECT :) He said my hips were just fine and that the bones in my hand are just fine! He said he thinks the bands in my knuckles are just tight and I should/could just get a splint on my hand to help straighten them out. That kind of stinks, but at least that's ALL it is!!!! My OT says she can make a splint for me to use at night, so we'll see how that goes when we get back home in January.

Yesterday I went to work again with mommy and this time I decided to be a good boy flirt with the girls! There are LOTS of pretty ladies in mommy's office and I hung out with my Tia Jennie and Tia Yolima who were singing me songs in Spanish and teaching me new words in Spanish (mommy and I like to watch this new show on TV called Hola Bebe too where we learn new words in Spanish.... mommy says if we watch them over and over we're BOUND to learn at least some Spanish :) After work Mommy and I went to the Broward College graduation with my Auntie Kris to see all the new teachers walk across the stage... that darn mommy thinks if she exposes me to enough school SUPER early the seed will be planted and I'll be sure to go to college and be a SUPERSTAR student, hehehe.....

 

Getting in a quick nap before graduation

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and I'm sure I'll be on to tell about my weekend adventures (and hopefully first snow stories). My Tio Pierce and Tia Pilar are flying to Spain tomorrow for a VERY special Christmas, so say an extra prayer that they have a safe flight! Also my BFF Jeremy is trying out the cannula again to see if he can get home by New Years.... please say an EXTRA BIG PRAYER that his lungs stay strong and he can come home soon!!!

Videos....

Mommy had to edit the videos in half so they would be small enough to load onto my blog :)

Practicing my rolling skills

Mood swing #1

Mood swing #2

Playing in my turtle part #1

Playing in my turtle part #2

Whine and cry part #1

Whine and cry part #2

My New Tricks

This weekend I've learned a few handy tricks that have gotten me extra attention :) First I've learned a new whine that gets mommy every time.... if I'm not feeling good, or I'm tired, or hungry, or just fed up and want attention right now I lower my bottom lip and make a REALLY sad face and whimper a pathetic little cry and BAM.... problem solved!! :)

Another trick I've learned (or habit I've developed) is a whiny moan/cry when I'm super tired. Sometimes I get so tired I just can't get to sleep no matter WHAT position I'm in or whose arms... so to make sure everyone knows exactly how tired I am and that it's their job to help me get to sleep, I purse my lips together and sort of make that same sad face like when I'm upset and moan a very specific tired baby song. It's not quite a whine and not quite me talking... I've learned to combine the two for this specific purpose and it also works quite effectively on mommy and daddy!

My new whiny whimper song of sleep

I have been hard at work this weekend on things mommy would consider a more productive use of my time (although that's up for debate). I'm working SUPER hard on sitting up by myself. Now that I have a New Year's goal of sitting on my own, mommy and daddy are making it their job to see that I meet that goal. I however, am not feeling it!!! Sitting up is HARD work and hurts my belly, particularly when I'm feeling tired or lazy and have to use those muscles even more just to stay upright, forget side to side. BUT, I played along for their sake and we threw in some rolling over and belly time to switch things up a bit (which I'm also getting better and better at!). My favorite toy for the weekend was my mirror.... boy that guy is handsome! He smiles a lot and likes to talk a lot too, just like me :)

Well hello handsome

Practicing my sitting skills

Mommy gave me a break and we had a good laugh!

Daddy tried to get me to play with my Duke basketball :)

Swinging in my "baby" swing while daddy wrapped some presents

 Last night I went to my first Christmas party with mommy and daddy and SANTA CAME!!! I was pretty tired and in a zone for the most part, but we got our picture taken with him and he brought me two SUPER fun new toys to play with (thank you Most family :)

All dressed up with mommy at the party!

Who is this guy?? 

Family picture with Mr. Clause

This morning I had to get dressed up AGAIN to go to church! I have to say, though, I look good in just about anything :) 

My pillow palace this morning

Dressing up isn't SO bad I guess

Mommy tricked me and got me to sleep on her shoulder then snuck me onto my belly for a nap

The nap didn't last long, I wanted to watch FOOTBALL :)

Mommy took lots of videos of me doing all my fun new things but her phone isn't working right so she can't get them off and onto the computer right now! Hopefully she'll figure that one out soon!! The last trick I learned this weekend is how to stand up using JUST my arms!! :) I've been able to put weight on my legs before, but this weekend mommy and I figured out that she could pull me up by my arms and I'm strong enough to balance myself on my feet now! WAHOO!!!! Watch me :)

Almost there....

In less than a week I'll be living the North Carolina life with all my favorite family and friends!!! :) That makes me, and mommy and daddy, happy campers!! This week has been pretty busy but good overall. I had a followup GI appointment on Tuesday and nothing much to report.... I'm currently enjoying a soy diet with a little bit of neosure to keep my nutrients up. I gained 6 oz in a week, GO ME! I'm up to 14 lbs, 13 1/2 oz... mommy says I feel STURDY and heavy! She also says I look longer/taller every day.... my legs are like frog legs hehe!

My absolute new favorite place to sleep when I'm ultra tired!

My OT/PT therapists think I could be sitting by the time we come back for the new year. I'm really starting to figure out this sitting thing, although it isn't easy and I usually complain a LOT when they make me do it! I'm a little unsteady but I have started sitting up straighter every day and hopefully soon I'll find my balance!

Here I am at OT with daddy and my favorite Cuban Abuela is trying to entertain me while I work on sitting on my own!! 

I'm still a grumpy grumpster, although I'm a LITTLE better than I was over the weekend. Mommy and daddy are trying to feed me a little more during the day so I only have ONE feeding at night. I've forgotten how to sleep through the night for some reason (probably my new diet) and they're hoping that keeping me to one night feeding will help me sleep better with a more settled tummy. So far I'm handling the extra milk during the day ok, but I'm still up at midnight and 2am.... we'll see how tonight goes!

Say what mommy??

My grumpy side emerging

Why are you taking my picture? I'm trying to go to sleep!!

On one VERY positive note, daddy took me to see my eye doctor yesterday and he said I'm doing FANTASTIC! My eyes are growing perfectly and I'm tracking and watching everything just fine. He must have done a good job on my surgery way back in the day :) I don't have to go back and see him for a YEAR, can you believe it?!?! YAY :)

Oh daddy.... I'm an OshKosh man, didn't you hear?

Here I am giggling with daddy.... We've been watching Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory WAY too much :)

Grumpy McGrumpster

On Friday my daddy came home, HOOOOOORRRAAAAYYY!!!!! That was the happy part of my weekend... the rest has been a tale of whining and complaining!!! I didn't sleep very good Friday night :( Mommy decided to try and feed me my overnight milk in one slow feeding starting at midnight (instead of two quicker feedings through the night) and let me sleep until the early morning like a normal baby would. However, she never asked me what I thought about that plan and to be honest, I wasn't happy about it! I was wiggly and whiny and unsettled the WHOLE night. I was completely happy the way things were, why'd she have to go and change things up on me?? She doesn't need to sleep through the night like I do, what was she thinking? Thankfully she thought better of it Saturday night and we went back to my regular schedule!

Unfortunately, because I didn't sleep very good Friday night, I was a grumpy grumpster on Saturday! I ended up whining through most of the morning, then taking a long nap with daddy to try and make up for my missed sleep overnight. Then mommy and daddy and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping. Shopping can be pretty boring for a little guy like me, so after some more whining and complaining, I decided to do a little more sleeping! I was feeling a little better after all that sleep, so we headed down to Hollywood Beach for their annual Candy Cane Parade on the Broadwalk (I was lured in with promises of seeing Santa!). It took us FOREVER to get there and by the time we finally found parking, the parade was just about done. We DID, however, catch Santa right at the end and followed the parade along the oceanfront for a little bit.

SANTA!!!

We got about halfway into the rest of the floats when something made me SUPER upset and I started crying REAL tears :( I don't pull out the real tears and the sad face unless something is REALLY bothering me!! Mommy and daddy couldn't figure out what was making me so upset and to their credit, they really tried everything to make me feel better but nothing was working! SOOOO.... back to the car we headed and I finally settled down a bit. Daddy decided to stop by Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor to get some yummy treats for him and mommy, but as soon as we got out of the car and into the line, the tears started flowing again :( I don't know WHAT was bringing them on, but I couldn't help myself, I was upset again! SOOOOO, back to the car we went and headed home this time!!


Last night was a little better than Friday night, but I did wake up around 2am in tears AGAIN!! My g-tube has been leaking a bunch whenever I get fed or unhooked so, of course, with all my crying mommy unhooked me feeding pump and milk ended up leaking everywhere.... that earned me a new pair of pajamas and I somehow settled down again for the rest of the night. Today I battled more unexplained unhappiness and fought mommy and daddy tooth and nail for every nap and even more at bed time. I don't know why I'm acting so miserable. I don't have a fever or a cold and my tummy is much better. Mommy thinks maybe I have my first tooth coming in, but she can't feel anything in my mouth and I'm not drooling or gnawing on things any more than usual (although I wasn't really interested in playing with any of my mouth toys with mommy this weekend even though she really tried with me in my high chair).

To top off my weekend, mommy went to pull me out of my high chair tonight and my feeding tube got caught on something.... pulling my g-tube pulled right out of my belly! Luckily I didn't really feel much when it came out because the balloon on the other end was pretty deflated. Mommy and daddy had wanted to change out my g-tube anyway because it was leaking and old, but they were going to wait and have my GI doctor do it on Tuesday when I go back for a follow up appointment.... guess it was ready to go now!! I didn't complain much and finally fell into a deep sleepy sleep for the night. Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep tonight and will start my week off right tomorrow!! :)

Big stretch after a nap

Like my sock monkey pjs? "chicks dig scars"

Ok so I did give SOME smiles away this weekend

Right before mommy pulled my G-tube out!

A busy week

Let's see.... since I last talked to everyone a lot seems to have happened. First my daddy left me AGAIN for the whole week :( He is living the life in Palm Springs, CA and missing me super big amounts!! Mommy and I are getting to spend LOTS of time together and it's been really nice actually :) Thankfully daddy comes home tomorrow, hooooooray!

Monday was a pretty uneventful day, I had PT and did pretty well overall. On Tuesday I went to work with mommy because I had a GI doctor appointment in the morning and OT in the early afternoon... so I hung out with the ladies at Broward College's Teacher Education Program and explored my options for a career in the field of education.

mommy got me up early to go to work

Getting my beauty sleep at work

oh mommy, you're so funny sometimes

Hmmmm.... become a teacher you say?

Ok, show me some more information

Ahhhhh..... yes, I can see myself going into education

My GI appointment was very productive. My doctor said my ultrasound results were perfectly fine (sigh, wahoo!!!) and that my numbers were probably elevated because I was sick the week they took blood from me. That's the good news, the bad news is I have to stay on that darn medication for a little while longer and I have to get more blood work done in a couple of weeks. Sigh, oh well, what's a guy to do?

My GI doctor also put me on a pre-digested formula called Neocate (the same stuff I was on in the NICU for a while) for three weeks until my tummy settles down. He says I'm lactose intolerant for at least the next month and this stuff is already broken down for my belly and all I have to do is absorb it. He also gave mommy some powder stuff called probiotics to put in with my milk twice a day to help get my tummy back in working order. I must say, that doctor knows what he's doing! In only two days I went from a total mess, with everything going right through me, to back to my normal self on this new diet... way to go doc! I also have to say that sometimes it's not so bad having this G-tube thing because if I had to actually smell and drink this pre-digested formula stuff, there'd be some serious fights between me and the bottle going down!!! Y-U-C-K!

Hanging out at the doctor's office

Yesterday I had my best day at Speech Therapy ever!!! Since I have a new high chair at home, mommy and my speech therapist decided I should also sit in one at therapy! Fine with me.... the thing I love about being in my high chair is I get undivided attention from anyone who sits in front of me! As you know, I'm quite the socialite and LOVE to talk.... and my new favorite thing to do is watch people's mouths move when they talk or sing. SO, my speech therapist sang and sang and sang to me while I was in her high chair and while I was distracted watching her mouth move with those funny songs, she worked on my mouth with my mouth brush and baby spoon and binkie! It's a win win if you ask me :)

Today my OT told mommy that now that I can swat at things pretty good with both my hands, I should be starting to grasp and grab onto things. I'm telling you.... it's never enough for these therapists! They ALWAYS want me to do more more more. Just when I master one thing, they go and tell mommy that I have to start working on something else! I am doing a little bit of grasping with my left hand and OCCASIONALLY with my right hand, but I guess I really have to start focusing more and clasping my hand around toys and eventually start using my pincher fingers to pick things up..... on another note I'm getting better and better at sitting! It's not my favorite thing in the world to do, but I'm getting there :)

Watching Curious George in my high chair while mommy gets ready

Seriously with the pictures right now mommy! I'm tired, can't you see that?

Today I got to spend the day at home with mommy and it was so nice. We played and read books and watched Christmas cartoons and took LONG peaceful naps (at least I did)... then we went over to Auntie Emma and Uncle Brian's house to have dinner. They are so funny... I love being with them because they're so funny and they make me smile and talk a lot :)

Having fun with mommy at home

My weekend adventures

My ultrasound went pretty good on Friday. Mommy says I'm quite the champ because I wasn't allowed to eat for four hours before the ultrasound, PLUS the hour it took to actually do the ultrasound! I was one HUNGRY dude, but I didn't complain. I knew what had to be done and I let the technician do his work without a peep from me! I was a little bit wiggly while he was doing the actual ultrasound (you would be too if some guy was putting warm goo on your belly and moving this stick all around!) but I got to watch Curious George and I think I actually fell asleep toward the end because he took so darn long!

Auntie Emma and I played for the rest of the day on Friday (much more fun that my nurses) and even Uncle Brian came to hang out for a few minutes before daddy got home :) My tummy was still feeling kind of funny but since I hadn't eaten eaten any milk in a few days mommy decided to try and give me a LITTLE bit with my rice water and pedialite so I don't start losing too much weight! Welllllllll.........

I don't think my tummy was still quite ready for the milk, because that night (actually early Saturday morning) I had a blow out for the books!!!!! Mommy woke up at 6:30am to feed me my first breakfast when she noticed I was kind of wet (it was hard to see because it was still dark in our room). She decided to change my diaper and PJs and dry me up (even though I was PASSED OUT) when she noticed it wasn't pee I was drenched in.... it was something WAY stinkier and WAY messier!!!

Daddy finally turned on the light (this is all what mommy told me, I was still sleeping soundly) and saw the damage that I had done!! My mess was E V E R Y W H E R E.... all over my clothes, all over my bed, all over my blankets, all over ME.... I had left no corner untouched! Needless to say, at this point I had to be woken up and moved because there was no quick fix :) Mommy went to work giving me a bath (which I have to say, if you're gonna wake a guy up early, a warm bath isn't a bad way to wake up) while daddy had the fun job of fixing my bed. I got to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed for the rest of the morning after my bath since mine was in no shape to be slept in.

I went back on the rice water and pedialite diet after that and had a little bit better morning.... mommy and daddy and I went to baby Gianna's memorial that afternoon. It was very sad, but her family was in good spirits and Gianna's twin baby Zoey is doing well... please continue to say prayers for her and her family! Unfortunately, my tummy wasn't cooperating while we were at the memorial (I was still working out the milk from that night) and had a little bit of an accident while daddy was holding me. "Little" might not be quite a strong enough word actually.... let's just say we had to leave the memorial and mommy had to buy daddy a new shirt at the mall while I went through the clothing supply in my diaper bag! Sorry daddy... I couldn't help it!

Today has been a better day... I have had a few blowouts, gone through several outfits, but overall I'm on the right track and HOPEFULLY starting to get back to normal by mid-week?? We shall see. Mommy and daddy bought me a new high chair :) This way I can sit with them at the dinner table and I have somewhere to play with my mouth brushes and toys and books and do my speech therapy exercises!!

Hmmmmmm.... what's this?

Sticking my tongue out helps me concentrate

On one final note, mommy had me laughing BIG laughs last night for the first time ever. I don't know what came over me or why it was so funny, but I was really tired and fighting my bed time and she just kept telling me be a Nike man and "just do it," just go to sleep :) Daddy caught a video of us laughing together.....

Ooooh what's on TV?

Driving back from my ultrasound with mommy

Hi guys

All tuckered out last night

I was so tired I fell asleep in my turtle

I'm ready guys

Hi daddy!!

Watching the morning news while mommy gets ready for work

Let's PLAY

More TV watching